Today was our first full day
in Melbourne. Melbourne is the state capital
of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in
Australia with a population in excess of five million people. In the wake of
the 1850 gold rush, the city entered a boom period that, by the late 1880s, whih
transformed it into one of the world's largest and wealthiest cities. It hosts
major annual international events such as the Australian Grand Prix, the Australian
Tennis Open and the Melbourne Cup horse race,
In the morning we took a
guide tour of the city. Our Globus tour
director was our city guide. She and the
driver provided a wonderful, informative tour.
Our first stop was Brighton beach. Brighton Beach is famous for its rainbow coloured
beach huts and is the most famous of Melbourne’s many beaches. It is also the
wealthiest section of the city, where a bathing box will cost you a
jaw-dropping $200,000. They were built more than 100 years ago in answer to
Victorian notions of modesty. However, you must be a bayside resident to even
consider making a purchase. For those that are lucky enough to own one of these
boxes, they are a prized possession that is usually passed down through the
family. The ownership of one these huts
also includes ownership of the beach in front of the hut. The rest of the beach is considered public
lands.
Next, we went to St Kilda neighbourhood.
It is filled with small cafes and outdoor restaurants. It also home to Luna park, which is an
amusement park that was opened in 1912.
This was followed by a visit
to the Shrine of Remembrance. This is Melbourne’s
memorial of the soldiers who served in the ANZAC army during the first and
second world wars. It is an impressive monument
that contains a tomb to unknown soldier.
The inside is a simulation of the tunnels of the WW1 and in each covey
hole there is a book listing the names of the soldiers who made the ultimate
sacrifice. When we were there, there
were many sailors from the Australian navy visiting the shrine.
We then continued to Albert
Park. This is where the Australian Grand Prix will be held in two weeks. We were allowed to drive on the course, as
the time trails have not started yet.
Next, we went through the
older residential section of the city. There
were many Victorian houses with ornamental iron railings on their balconies. Some
of the houses are in dire need of repairs but the owners are stopped because of
their home’s heritage designation, which does not allow for alterations to the
exterior of the house.
There are many Victorian buildings
which offer an amazing alternative to the modern office buildings in the
downtown area. One of these is UNESCO world
heritage site, the Royal Exhibition Building. It is a beautiful old convention
hall that is still in use today.
Later in the afternoon we
went to Phillip Island to see the March of Penguins. When we arrived we spotted
several wallabies. Every evening during sunset over a thousand penguins return
from a day of fishing and waddle ashore to spend the night in their burrows. The Little Penguins parade passed by us as we
sat in a bleacher, which was about ten metres away from this parade. At first a lone scout comes ashore to ensure
the safety of his follow penguins. This was
followed by a small group of penguins and then other groups of 10 or more
penguins followed. Cute doesn’t even
begin to describe this event. The
penguins run and waddle up their trails, all the time checking us out. At one point we saw two penguins kissing and
embracing each other. Also, the young chicks,
come out of their burrows and anxiously await their parents who are bring them their
daily meal. Unfortunately, in order to
protect the penguins, we were not allowed to take photos.
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